Burner replacing system

ABSTRACT

A burner replacing system has a rail mounted in a ring around the outer periphery of burners mounted radially at the middle of a gas turbine. A carriage turns around the burners via the rail; and supports a pull-out slide via a rotary shaft which turns the slide up and down in the direction of a center axis of the gas turbine. Another rotary shaft turns the slide right and left around a radial axis of the gas turbine. The slide moves in the axial direction of the burners. A hand for gripping the burner is supported by the pull-out slide via a centering slide which moves up and down in the radial direction of the burner. An alternate system has a pull-out slide which is supported by the carriage and moves forward and backward in the axial direction of the burner. A telescopic slide is supported by the pull-out slide and expands in the axial direction of the burner. The hand is provided at the edge of the telescopic slide to grip the burner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a burner replacing system used inremoving or reassembling burners to inspect or repair the burners of agas turbine for thermal power generation.

2. Description of Related Art

FIGS. 12a and 12b are drawings for explaining a prior art method forreplacing burners in inspecting or repairing the burners of a gasturbine for thermal power generation. In the figure, 16 or so burners bare arranged radially at equal intervals at the middle part of the mainbody of a gas turbine g, and are inserted and assembled thereto viaflanges f. Conventionally, the burner b is replaced manually byconstructing simple scaffolds s, after removing pipes and otherequipment around the burner b, and manipulating an overhead travelingcrane c to sling the burner b by workers who get on the scaffolds.

While the burner b is replaced conventionally by the manual work asdescribed above, the burner b is about 400 mm in outer diameter and isas long as about 1500 mm, so that workers have to enter the inside ofthe gas turbine g to lift up and bring out the burner b manually, incooperation with the workers who get on the scaffolds s, in pulling outthe burner b. The burner b is then slung by the overhead traveling cranec and is moved to an inspection or repair site. While it takes a longtime to do that because one burner b weighs about 250 kg and needs to bedivided into several parts, there is a structural limit, and some of theparts weigh around 100 kg. Therefore, because it is difficult tomaintain an adequate position during the work in the narrow inner spaceof the gas turbine g and on the unstable outside scaffolds s, such workinvolves great danger. Further, because the working conditions are sobad, the burner b or the inside of the gas turbine g is damagedoccasionally, taking more time and expense to repair them.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve theaforementioned problem by providing a novel burner replacing system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A burner replacing system of the present invention is constructed suchthat a rail is provided in a ring around the circumference of the gasturbine, where burners are disposed radially, such that a carriage canturn around the burners on the rail. The carriage carries a pull-outslide via a rotary shaft, which can turn the slide up and down in thedirection of the center axis of the gas turbine, and via a rotary shaftwhich turns the slide right and left around the radial axis of the gasturbine. A hand is supported by the pulling-out slide via a centeringslide which moves up and down in the direction of the diameter of theburner so as to be able to grip the burner.

The burner may be replaced by using the burner replacing system of thepresent invention by locating the center position of each burner in thecircumferential direction with the carriage which turns around theburners. The hand is extended to the surface of a flange of the burnerwith the pulling-out slide to cause the center of the hand to coincidewith the position of the center axis of the burner, also using thecentering slide to adjust the surface of the hand to the inclination ofthe surface of the flange of the burner by the rotary shafts. The flangeof the burner is connected with the hand, the pulling-out slide pullsout the burner from the gas turbine, and the burner is raised by therotary shaft. The carriage is then turned to move the burner to theupper part of the gas turbine where the overhead traveling crane canreach, and the burner is slung to the overhead traveling crane to carryit out. Then an alternate burner is grasped with the hand to reassemblethe gas turbine by implementing the above-mentioned procedure in theopposite way. Thereby, the burner replacing work is mechanized and theburner may be replaced at one time without requiring so much man powerand without dividing it into parts. The work period may thus beshortened and the man power used in replacing the burners can beconsiderably saved. Further, the burner replacing system of the presentinvention allows safety to be improved during replacement of the burnerand the burner or the gas turbine to not be damaged, because theaccuracy of the work in replacing the burner is enhanced, thuseliminating the cost or work period for the repair.

Further, the burner replacing system of the present embodiment comprisesa rail provided in a ring around the outer periphery of burners disposedradially around a gas turbine. A carriage moves along the rail, apull-out slide is supported on the carriage and moves forward andbackward in the direction of the axis of the burner, and a telescopicslide is supported by the pull-out slide and extends in the direction ofthe axis of the burner. A hand is provided at the end of the telescopicslide for gripping the burner. The burner may be pulled out of the gasturbine by using this burner replacing system by locating thecircumferential center position of each burner with the carriage whichturns around the burner along the rail. The pull-out slide is movedforward and the telescopic slide is expanded to abut the hand with thesurface of a flange of the burner. The flange is connected with the handby bolts, and the telescopic slide and the pull-out slide are retreatedto pull out the burner from the gas turbine. The burner is moved by thecarriage to the upper part of the gas turbine to sling it to theoverhead traveling crane to carry it out. The burner which has beeninspected and maintained, may be inserted and reassembled to the gasturbine by implementing the above-mentioned procedure in the oppositeway by using the burner replacing system. Thus, the burner replacingwork, such as pulling out and insertion, are mechanized, and a heavyburner may be replaced without requiring as much man power and by acompact system. The accuracy of the burner replacing work is enhancedand the burner or the gas turbine will not be damaged, allowing the workperiod to be reduced, man power to be saved and the safety to beremarkably improved. The above and other advantages of the inventionwill become more apparent in the following description and theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a is a front view of a burner replacing system according to oneembodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 1b is a side view seen from a line 1b--1b in FIG. 1a, and

FIG. 1c is a detailed section view of a main part of the burnerreplacing system;

FIG. 2a is a front view of a Carriage of the burner replacing system,

FIG. 2b is a side view thereof, and

FIG. 2c is a detailed view of the main part thereof;

FIG. 3a is a front view of a rotary frame and

FIG. 3b is a section view thereof;

FIG. 4a is a front view of a pull-out slide and

FIG. 4b is a side view thereof;

FIG. 5a is a side view of a centering slide and

FIG. 5b is a front view thereof;

FIGS. 6a through 6c are drawings for explaining the operation of theburner replacing system;

FIG. 7a is a front view of a burner replacing system according toanother embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 7b is a view seen from a line 7b--7b in FIG. 7a, and

FIG. 7c is a section of a rail thereof;

FIG. 8a is a front view of a carriage of the burner replacing system,

FIG. 8b is a side view thereof, and

FIG. 8c is a section view along a line 8c--8c in FIG. 8a;

FIG. 9a is a plan view of a pull-out slide thereof and

FIG. 9b is a view seen from 9b--9b in FIG. 9a;

FIG. 10a is a front view of a telescopic slide thereof and

FIG. 10b is a side view thereof;

FIGS. 11a through 11c are drawings for explaining the operation of thesecond embodiment of the burner replacing system;

FIG. 12a is a drawing for explaining a prior art method for replacingburners and

FIG. 12b is a front view of a burner.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 through 6 are drawings for explaining a burner replacing systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figures,the burner replacing system of the present embodiment is used inremoving or reassembling a burner in repairing or inspecting the burnerof a gas turbine for thermal power generation. As shown in the figures,16 or so burners b of the gas turbine are arranged radially at equalintervals at the middle part of a gas turbine g and are inserted andassembled via flanges f on the gas turbine g. In order to be able tofacilitate the replacement of a burner b, a carriage 2 which turnsaround all the burners b in the direction Θ is provided in the burnerreplacing system. Each burner b may be replaced at one time withoutrequiring any man power and without requiring division of the burner binto small parts by locating the center position of each burner b in thecircumferential direction with the carriage 2, by extending a hand 7 tothe surface of a flange f of the burner b via a pulling-out slide 5mounted on the carriage 2 to cause the center of the hand 7 to coincidewith the position of the center axis of the burner b by a centeringslide 6. The surface of the hand 7 is adjusted to the inclination of thesurface of the flange f of the burner b by a rotary shaft 3 for turningthe pull-out slide 5 up and down and a rotary shaft 4 for turning thepull-out slide 5 right and left. The flange f of the burner b isconnected with the hand 7 by three bolts or so. The pulling-out slide 5is returned to pull out the burner b from the gas turbine g. The burnerb is raised by the rotary shaft 3. The carriage 2 is turned to move theburner b to the upper part of the gas turbine g where the overheadtraveling crane can reach. The burner b is slung to the overheadtraveling crane to carry it out. Then, by gripping an alternate burner bwith the hand 7, reassembly is performed by implementing theabove-mentioned procedure in the opposite way.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(c), a T-shaped rail 1 is laid in aring around the outer periphery of the gas turbine g at the middle partthereof, where the burners b are mounted, and the carriage 2 runs andturns on the rail 1 in the direction e. The rotary shaft 3, which turnsthe pull-out slide 5 up and down in the direction a toward the centeraxis of the gas turbine g, is mounted in the middle of the carriage 2 asshown in FIGS. 2(a)-(c), and the rotary shaft 4, which turns thepull-out slide 5 right and left in the direction of β, i.e. around theradial axis of the gas turbine g, is mounted at a turnable portionconnected with rotary shaft 3. A driving portion of the rotary shaft 4supports the pulling-out slide 5, which moves in the direction of Z ofthe axis of the burner b. The centering slide 6 moves in the direction Yof the diameter of the burner b and is provided on the movable portionof the pulling-out slide 5. The hand 7, which is connected with theflange f of the burner b by bolts, is mounted at a movable portion ofthe centering slide 6. The carriage 2 is clamped and guided by upperwheels 22, lower wheels 23 and width wheels 24 mounted to a frame of thecarriage 2, in correspondence with a rail flange 11 which forms theT-shape of the rail 1. The carriage 2 is allowed to run by engaging apinion 26 at an output shaft of a motor 25 with a rack 12 attached tothe rail 1.

The rotary shaft 3 comprises a shaft 32 provided in a fixed frame 31mounted on the carriage 2 and a turnable frame 33 mounted via the shaft32 as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. A pinion 36 at an output shaft of amotor 35 mounted to the fixed frame 31 is engaged with a circular gear34 which is centered on the shaft 32 mounted at the basal end of theturnable frame 33 to drive the turnable frame 33. The rotary shaft 4 issupported by a bearing 41 at the center of the turnable frame 33. A worm44 at an output shaft of a motor 43 mounted to the turnable frame 33 isengaged with a worm wheel 42 attached at one side of the rotary shaft 4to drive the rotary shaft 4.

The pulling-out slide 5 is fitted via a guide 54 to rails 53 attached atboth sides of a frame 52 based on a flange 51 mounted to the rotaryshaft 4. A screw of an output shaft of a motor 55 fixed to the frame 52is supported by a bearing 56. A nut 57 is mounted at the lower part ofthe pulling-out slide 5 and engaged with the screw as shown in FIGS. 4aand 4b to drive the pulling-out slide 5.

The centering slide 6 is mounted by fitting a guide 63 with a rail 62mounted at the both sides of a fixed frame 61 mounted to the pulling-outslide 5. A nut 67 is engaged with a screw 66 supporting an output shaftof a motor 64 at the lower part of the fixed frame 61 to drive thecentering slide 6 as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. Thus, the hand 7, an endeffector, is mounted at the movable part of the centering slide 6. Boltholes are perforated through the hand 7 corresponding to screw holesprovided on the surface of the flange f of the burner b. The hand 7 hasa flange shape.

The burner b is replaced by the present system by locating the hand 7 ofthe replacing unit M at the flange surface of the burner b with thecarriage 2. The position is adjusted to the mount angle of the burner bby the rotary shaft 3 and the pulling-out slide 5 is moved forward. Thehand 7 is positioned at the center of the flange surface of the burner bwith the rotary shaft 4 and the centering slide 6. The hand 7 is thenconnected with the flange by bolts. Then, the pulling-out slide 5 isretreated to take out the burner b, and the removed burner b is raisedby the rotary shaft 3 so as to be able to sling it with the overheadtraveling crane.

While the burner b is conventionally replaced by manual labor, theburner b is about 400 mm in outer diameter and is as long as about 1500mm, so that workers also have to enter the inside of the gas turbine gto lift up and bring out the burner b manually, in cooperation withworkers who get on the scaffolds s in pulling out the burner b. Theburner b is then slung by the overhead traveling crane c and moved to aninspection or repair site. Further, while it takes a long time to dothat, because one burner b weighs about 250 kg and needs to be dividedinto several parts, there is a structural limit, and some of the partsweigh around 100 kg. Therefore, because it is difficult to keep anadequate position during the works in the narrow inner space and on theunstable outside scaffolds, such work involves great danger. Further,because the working conditions are so bad, the burner b or the inside ofthe gas turbine g are occasionally damaged, leading to more time andexpense being taken to repair them.

However, the present burner replacing system is constructed such thatthe rail 1 is provided in a ring around the circumference of the gasturbine g and that the carriage 2 turns around the burner b on the rail1 by an angle of Θ. The carriage 2 carries the rotary shaft 3, whichturns the pull-out slide 5 up and down in the direction of the centeraxis of the gas turbine g. The rotary shaft 4 turns the pull-out slide 5right and left around the radial axis of the gas turbine g. Thepulling-out slide 5 is supported by the rotary shaft 4 and moves in theaxial direction of the burners b disposed radially, and the centeringslide 6 is supported by the pulling-out slide 5 and moves up and down inthe direction of the diameter of the burner b so as to be able to pullout or to reassemble the burner b with the hand 7 attached at the end ofthe centering slide 6. Accordingly, the burner b may be pulled out orinserted at one time without dividing it into parts while replacing theburner b, thus shortening the work period and saving considerable manpower. Further, because the manual work in replacing the burner b ismechanized, the safety in replacing the burner b is improved. Stillmore, because the accuracy of work in replacing the burner b is enhancedand the burner b or the gas turbine g will not be damaged, no cost orwork period for repair becomes necessary.

FIGS. 7 through 11 are drawings for explaining a burner replacing systemaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thefigures, the burner replacing system of the present embodiment is usedin inspecting or repairing of burners of a gas turbine for thermal powergeneration. 16 burners or so, each comprising a nozzle n and a tailcylinder t, are arranged radially at equal intervals at the middle partof the gas turbine g and are connected thereto via a flange. In order tobe able to readily replace the burner b, the present burner replacingsystem comprises, as shown in the figure, a rail 101 laid in a ringaround the gas turbine g and a carriage 102 which turns around theburner b via the rail 101. A pull-out slide 103, which moves in thedirection of the axis of the burner b and is radially disposed, and amulti-staged telescopic slide 104 which is supported by the pull-outslide 103 and expands in the direction of the axis of the burner b, aremounted to the carriage 102. A hand 105 for gripping the burner b isprovided at the end of the telescopic slide 104 to reduce the size ofthe whole system and to be able to pull out or insert the burner b fromor to the gas turbine g without various pipes p around the burner b.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7(a)-(c), the rail 101 having a T-shapedsection is laid in a ring around the middle part of the gas turbine gwhere the burners b are mounted and the carriage 102 runs and turns inthe direction Θ on the rail 101. The pull-out slide 103, which moves inthe direction of the axis of the burner b, is mounted on the carriage102. The telescopic slide 104, which actuates in the direction of theaxis of the burner b, is provided at the moving part of the pull-outslide 103. The hand 105, which can be connected with the nozzle n andthe flange of the tail cylinder t with bolts, is attached at the end ofthe moving part of the telescopic slide 104.

The carriage 102 is clamped and guided by upper wheels 122, lower wheels123 and width wheels 124 mounted to a frame in correspondence with arail flange 111 of the rail 101. The carriage 102 is run by engaging apinion 126 attached to an output shaft of a motor 125 with a rack 112attached to the rail 101 as shown in FIGS. 8(b)-(c). Further, thepull-out slide 103 is fitted, via a guide 134, on a rail 133 attached onboth sides of a frame 132, which in turn is constructed and based on aflange 131 mounted on the carriage 102, as shown in FIGS. 9(a)-(b). Ascrew 136, which is driven by the output of a motor 135 fixed to theframe 132, is supported by a bearing 137. A nut 138 is mounted at thelower part of the pull-out slide 103 and engaged with the screw 136 todrive the pull-out slide 103.

The telescopic slide 104 comprises four sets of frames in total. A boxtype outer frame 142 is mounted to a fixed frame 141 mounted to thepull-out slide 103. Grooved rail guides 143 are provided at four cornersof the outer frame 142 and receive rails 144 which fit therein. Therails 144 are mounted at four corners of the outer surfaces of an innerframe 145. An inner frame 148 has rails 147 which fit in guides 146provided at four corners of the inside of the inner frame 145. The rails147 are provided at four corners of the outer surface of the inner frame148. An inner frame 411 has rails 410 which fit in guides 149 providedat four corners of the inside of the inner frame 148. The rails 410 areprovided at four corners of the outer surface of the inner frame 411. Aninner frame 414 has rails 413 which fit in guides 412 provided at fourcorners of the inside of the inner frame 411. The rails 413 are providedat four corners of the outer surface of the inner frame 414. Therigidity is enhanced by alternately differentiating the surface of eachframe where the rail is mounted, also reducing the overall section size.Further, stoppers 415, 416, 417 and 418, which abut the guides, aremounted on the rails of each inner frame so that they will not be pulledout. Further, the basal portion of a screw shaft 417, which runs througha nut 416 fixed at the center of the end inner frame 414, is mountedturnably on the fixed frame 141. A gear 419 orthogonally engages with acrown gear 418 mounted on the screw shaft 417, and is connected with anoutput shaft of a motor 420 mounted to the fixed frame 141. The hand 105attached at the end of the inner frame 414 has a flange shape throughwhich bolt holes are perforated in correspondence with the nozzle n andthe flange surface of the tail cylinder t of the burner b.

The tail cylinder t may be pulled out, for example to replace the burnerb, by using the burner replacing system of the present embodiment. Thecarriage 102 causes the hand 105 to face the flange surface of the tailcylinder t of the burner b. The pullout slide 103 is moved forward tothe maximum by X1, and the telescopic slide 104 is expanded by X2 bypushing out the inner frame 411 at the end by turning the screw shaft417 with the motor 420 via the gear 419 and the crown gear 418. The nextinner frame 414 is pushed out if the stopper 418 abuts the guide 412,the next inner frame 148 is pushed out if the stopper 417 abuts theguide 149, and the next inner frame 145 is pushed out if the stopper 416abuts the guide 146. The hand 105 is positioned at the center of theflange surface of the tail cylinder t to connect with bolts as shown inFIG. 11a. Then the telescopic slide 104 is retreated by X3 by reverseoperation as shown in FIG. 11b and the pull-out slide 103 is retreatedby X4 as shown in FIG. 11c to pull out the tail cylinder t completelyfrom the gas turbine g. Further, the carriage 102 is turned to ahorizontal part at the upper part of the gas turbine g to be able toreadily sling the tail cylinder t to the overhead traveling crane toenable it to be carried out. It is noted that the nozzle n may be pulledcarry out only by the pullout slide 103, while stopping the telescopicslide 104. Further, the nozzle n and the tail cylinder t may be insertedby implementing the above-mentioned procedure in the opposite way.

When the burner b is replaced conventionally by manual labor, the burnerb is about 400 mm in outer diameter and is as long as about 1500 mm.Workers have to enter the inside of the gas turbine g to lift up and tobring out the burner b manually in cooperation with workers who get onthe scaffolds s in order to pull out the burner b. The burner b is thenslung to the overhead traveling crane c and moved to an inspection orrepair site. While it takes a long time to do that, because the nozzleof the burner weighs about 350 kg and the tail cylinder weighs about 90kg, and needs to be divided into several parts, there is a structurallimit. Further, because it is difficult to keep an adequate positionduring the work in the narrow inner space and on the unstable outsidescaffolds, such work involves great danger. Further, because the workingconditions are so bad, the burner b or the inside of the gas turbine gare occasionally damaged, requiring more time and expense to be taken torepair them. It has been difficult to mechanize the burner replacingoperation, because the system could not but be large and to implement itspacewise because the space is congested with various pipes such as fueland cooling pipes.

The burner replacing system of the present embodiment comprises the rail101 laid in a ring around the burner b, assembled radially at the middlepart of the gas turbine, and the carriage 102 mounted to the rail flange111. The pull-out slide 103, which moves in the direction of the axis ofthe radially disposed burners b, is mounted on the carriage 102.Telescopic multi-stages are formed by inserting inner frames, on whoseouter surface are mounted rails, into outer frames, with guides at theirinner corners, one by one. A nut is attached at the center of the end ofthe inner frame to provide the telescopic slide 104 through which thescrew shaft 417, driven by the motor 420 provided on the frame, runsthrough. The hand 105 for gripping the burner b is provided at the endof the telescopic slide 104.

The burner b may be pulled out of the gas turbine g by using the burnerreplacing system of the present embodiment by locating thecircumferential center position of each burner b with the carriage 102,which turns around the burner b. The pull-out slide 103 is moved forwardto abut the hand 105 with the flange surface of the nozzle n of theburner b. The flange is connected with and the hand 105 with about threebolts. The nozzle n is separated from the tail cylinder t within the gasturbine g. The pull-out slide 103 is retreated to pull out the nozzle nfrom the gas turbine g. The carriage 102 is moved to the upper part ofthe gas turbine g to be able to readily sling the nozzle n to theoverhead traveling crane to carry it out. Thereafter, the pull-out slide103 is moved forward in the same manner and the telescopic slide 104 isexpanded to abut the hand 105 with the flange of the tail cylinder tdeep inside the gas turbine g. They are connected by bolts, and theslides are retreated to pull out and to carry out the tail cylinder t.The tail cylinder t or the nozzle n which has been inspected andmaintained may be reassembled by implementing the above-mentionedprocedure in the opposite way.

Thus, a heavy burner may be pulled out or inserted without requiring asmuch man power. Further, because the multi-staged telescoping slide 104has a structure in which the square rails are disposed at four cornersof the box type frames, it allows the section size to be reduced, tosustain as high a load as 90 kg with a light weight structure and tomaintain accuracy. Further, the replacing work such as pulling out andinserting the burner b may be mechanized by the compact system and maybe implemented in a small space where various pipes exist. Further, themechanization of the replacing work of the burner b allows the workperiod to be reduced, man power to be saved and the safety to beremarkably improved. Because the accuracy of the operation during theburner replacing works is enhanced, the gas turbine g will not bedamaged and the reliability of the replacing work may be maintained.

While preferred embodiments have been described, variations thereto willoccur to those skilled in the art within the scope of the presentinventive concepts which are delineated by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A burner replacing system, comprising:a rail mounted in aring around an outer periphery of burners mounted radially at the middleof a gas turbine; a carriage which turns around said burners via saidrail; a pull-out slide which is supported on said carriage via a rotaryshaft which turns said slide up and down in the direction of a centeraxis of said gas turbine and a rotary shaft which turns said slide rightand left around a radial axis of said gas turbine, said pull-out slidemoving in the direction of a center axis of said radially disposedburners; and a hand, supported by said pull-out slide via a centeringslide which moves up and down in a radial direction of said burner, forgripping said burner.
 2. A burner replacing system, comprising:a railmounted in a ring around the outer periphery of a plurality of burnersradially disposed; a carriage which moves along said rail; a pull-outslide which is supported by said carriage and moves forward and back inthe direction of a center axis of said burner; a telescopic slide whichis supported by said pull-out slide and expands in the direction of saidaxis of said burner; and a hand, provided at an edge of said telescopicslide, for gripping said burner.